


And From Now On, Again and Again

by IceLite1011



Series: Kuroko no Basuke Oneshots [2]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character songs, Fluff, Idols, M/M, light&shadow, singer!kagami x singer!kuroko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-28
Updated: 2015-08-28
Packaged: 2018-04-17 16:41:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4673939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceLite1011/pseuds/IceLite1011
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Ballad</p>
<p>Kuroko didn't expect those comments on their new music video.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And From Now On, Again and Again

"So how about we start the bridge with you, switch to me, and then do the very last bit together? And then we can go into in the final chorus."

"It sounds fine to me, Kagami-kun. I think the flow is wonderful."

Kuroko watched as Kagami grinned widely at him before quickly scribbling down the final lyrics in his notebook, color-coding each line according to who would sing each part—red for Kagami, blue for himself, and black for the both of them.

It had been a long journey for the both of them, full of struggles and obstacles at every turn, but they had finally made it, together, as the Light&Shadow combo that could fill an arena with thousands of fans with a single Internet ad. There were times when Kuroko wanted to give up, to throw all of his effort away, but Kagami was always there for him, supporting him, and Kuroko could never thank his light enough for that.

Kuroko tried to pour out his gratitude in his lyrics, checking and fixing his word choice meticulously before writing them out in front of Kagami. He would wait silently, holding his breath, as Kagami would read through the lyrics, and he was always rewarded with his favourite wide smile and a happy "This looks great, Kuroko! Awesome!" before they would finish up the song together.

Right now they were working on their newest piece, "And From Now On, Again and Again", and it was one of Kuroko's favourites. It showed all of the hardships they faced during their long journey, and Kuroko felt their strong bond in the lyrics. Coupled with the way the solo parts bounced between the two men, as if they were really conversing, it was perfect.

"I think we're all done, Kuroko!" Kagami said happily as he held up the notebook in triumph. "Yes," Kuroko breathed in awe, staring at the completed lyrics. He loved it. He couldn't wait to perform it in front of the audience at their next live performance. Not a single fan knew about their upcoming new single, so it would be a lovely surprise.

❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

"Okay, we'll end rehearsal here! Great work, you two! Let's clear out!"

The director gave out orders to the staff as Kuroko breathed a sigh of relief. Rehearsal had been long, but he was excited to finally perform tomorrow, on this very stage. He looked out at the vast sea of empty seats, which would be filled with fans from around the world in less than a day.

"Nice work, Kuroko!" Kagami ruffled his hair as assistants handed them towels and drinks. "You ready for tomorrow?"

"Of course, Kagami-kun. Let's make the best of it."

After changing in their dressing room and confirming final preparations with the director, the two of them headed out of the arena to Kagami's place for dinner. The redhead was an excellent cook, and they would always eat dinner together the night before a performance. After walking for about fifteen minutes, Kagami unlocked the door and the two hurried inside, out of the cold night air.

"You can just hang around in the living room; I'll go warm everything up." Kagami said as he rushed to the kitchen. "Thank you," Kuroko called as he flopped down on the plushy white sofa, breathing in the redhead's scent. There was no denying that Kuroko had feelings for his partner, ever since high school, when he caught Kagami strumming his guitar and singing softly by himself in the music room, but he was content with keeping those feelings locked in his heart. As long as they could stay side-by-side as Light&Shadow, he couldn't be happier. He loved everything about Kagami—his strong, powerful voice, his concentration whenever they wrote a new song, and just how genuinely happy he looked when they performed together. Kagami really was his perfect light.

"Sorry to keep you waiting; let's eat!" A happy bellow came from the kitchen and Kuroko smiled as he stood up and made his way towards the delicious smells wafting from the counter. Set out on the countertop was were two heaping plates of curry—Kagami's best dish—with a glass of water next to one and a vanilla shake next to the other.

"It looks delicious," Kuroko commented as he sat down in front of the curry with the vanilla shake. Kagami always knew exactly what Kuroko seemed to be craving, whether it be an omelette or pancakes or curry, like today. "Thanks!" Kagami replied, already a mouthful of rice in his mouth. "Lef check fa commef!" Kuroko gave a small laugh, nodding and pulling up Kagami's laptop so it faced the both of them.

It was always their routine to check their official site whenever they uploaded a new music video to read the comments posted by viewers. Just last week the music video for one of their newer songs, "SHOUT!!!" was released, and it was already overflowing with comments. The pair smiled around bites of curry as the scrolled through the happy posts, remarks such as "awesome!" and "lovely voices!" and "I love the guitar and drums!" popped up frequently. Suddenly, a little string of comments—a conversation between several people, it seemed, caught Kuroko's eye.

KgHn910: OMG!!!!! U 2 R SO CUTE TOGETHER!!!! xD

TG-iPatch: IKR!!!! Ahhhhh Tiger10 and Vani11a r too freaking adorable!!!!

SuzukiSan: they really are a nice pair, huh? they're making me blush!!!! 

MakoMackerel: JUST START DATING ALREADY!!!! MY FEEEEELS!!!!

KnBros4Life: they would make such a cute couple ^o^

Kuroko froze when he finished reading, his spoon halfway to his mouth. Yes, there were always some comments here and there that called them "cute", but never cute together. He took a quick glance at Kagami, who was shovelling curry into his mouth with his eyes momentarily off the screen.

Why would people start saying that now? Kuroko thought back to the contents of the video. It was mostly just the two of them in a room with black walls and floors, with smoke machines and colourful lights for dramatic effect. Kuroko was on the drums, while Kagami played his electric guitar. Sometimes the scene would switch to the pair positioned in the middle of a dimly lit basketball court with a spotlight shining down on them, without their instruments. There was nothing suspicious about the setting.

Only, now that Kuroko thought about it, they were standing a lot closer than usual while singing, especially during the cuts where they were on the court. And once, when they were belting out the chorus, Kagami had grabbed Kuroko's shoulders and pulled him close, so that they were singing towards each other rather than the camera. The action was totally unexpected and caught everyone off guard, but the director seemed quite pleased with it so they decided to keep it like that. Kuroko would never admit this out loud, but he loved it—with Kagami's hot breath washing over him and his fierce red gaze holding his own.

Quickly swallowing his bite of rice, Kuroko's mind raced with possible courses of action.

Should he just scroll down? No, he couldn't, those were the oldest comments so he couldn't scroll any farther.

Should he close the window? No, that would just seem suspicious.

Should he feign a sudden illness to get Kagami's attention away from the computer? No, that would definitely cause trouble for the concert, and Kuroko would never purposely disappoint his fans.

He concluded that were only two options—hope for a miraculous computer virus that erased just that conversation, or let Kagami see for himself. Kuroko supposed he had been staring at the screen for longer than what was considered normal, because suddenly Kagami was putting a hand on his shoulder, saying his name worriedly.

"Kuroko? You okay? Are there some really bad hate comments or...?" Kagami's voice trailed off as he read what was on the screen.

An incredibly awkward silence followed. Kuroko managed to keep a blank face, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Kagami's face slowly turn the same shade as his hair. "I-it's nice that our fans see us as such close partners..." Kuroko tried, picking up his spoon casually, but suddenly a strong force had knocked the utensil out of his hand and pinned him against the counter, almost tipping over Kuroko's chair.

Kuroko whipped his head up, shocked, to see his light looming over him, tightly gripping his arms and standing as close or even closer than they had in the "SHOUT!!!" video. Kuroko was frozen as Kagami stared down at him with such intensity that he even felt a tiny bit...afraid. And that was saying a lot. Even though Kagami had a permanent scowl on his face and towered over most people, he was the sweetest person Kuroko knew and never, ever, intentionally hurt him. "K-Kagami-kun?" He said, voice barely above a whisper.

"Nice, huh?" Kagami growled, leaning closer so that his lips were against Kuroko's ear. Their close proximity made Kuroko shiver, but what Kagami said next made his entire body heat up. "Would it be 'nice' if we actually started dating?"

"I..." His voice was hoarse, trembling. Kuroko didn't know what to do. He wasn't sure he could control himself any longer if Kagami kept breathing against his ear like that, warm air ghosting over his neck and sending electric sparks across Kuroko's skin. All sorts of images flashed through his head—Kagami in high school, groaning about how no one took music class seriously and the only person he could bear to work with was Kuroko...Kagami in college, when they shared their first fist-bump after performing their first debut song at a local concert...and finally, Kagami just two years ago, when one of their singles reached number one in the charts for the first time ever and the redhead had caught Kuroko up in a crushing hug, tears of joy running down his face.

All of the memories they shared together rushed through Kuroko's mind, swelling up his heart with heat and love for the tiger above him, and finally overflowing to the point of no return when the words Kuroko had been holding in for so long spilled out, broken and needy and nothing like his usual self.

"I like you...Kagami-kun...please..."

What he was pleading for, he had no idea, but all he could focus on was keeping his knees from giving out under him as he waited for a response. It's done, Kuroko thought to himself when Kagami didn't say anything, wondering why he just single-handedly decided to ruin their relationship with his confession. Kagami-kun will hate me.

So when Kagami suddenly wrapped his arms around Kuroko's slender frame, his breath shuddering and warm tears dripping from his eyes onto his shadow's shoulder, Kuroko was confused.

And he was even more confused when those lips he had wanted for years covered his own.

❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

"We're on in five!" the director yelled frantically as makeup artists swarmed around the pair, adding final touches to their hair and clothing.

"Nervous?" Kagami turned towards Kuroko with a smirk, chests nearly touching because of the small platform they were standing on.

"A bit, yes," Kuroko nodded as one assistant tweaked his bangs so they were swept to one side. "But mostly excited."

"Me too," Kagami breathed as the director gave the okay and everyone else backed away from the platform. Just as Kuroko was about to close his eyes and wish for a good performance, as he always did right before a show, he felt a pressure on his right hand. He quickly looked down to find that Kagami had entwined their fingers tightly, even going as far as to take off his black fingerless glove so that their bare skin touched. Kuroko glanced back up at his light, cheeks flaming and a questioning look in his azure eyes, but Kagami stared straight ahead determinedly.

"It's time! Raise the platform! Good luck!" The director yelled over the roar of the crowd above, shaking Kuroko out of this thoughts. The ceiling parted into two as their platform started to rise slowly, bringing them closer and closer to the lights, the stage, and the crowd. Kuroko sucked in a deep breath as he squeezed Kagami's hand back. He flashed back to yesterday's incident as they neared the top.

After Kuroko's broken confession, Kagami had kissed him senseless, silent tears trailing down both of their faces. The only words that were spoken were each other's names and quiet moans as they moved towards the bed, and in the end Kuroko never did get a clear answer. But by the way Kagami was touching him, he guessed that he had gotten a positive response. Kuroko just wished he could hear the words from Kagami himself. And today they had to rush straight to the arena for last-minute preparations and hair and makeup, so they didn't really get a chance to be alone.

Kuroko snapped back to the present as the hot lights finally hit his face, his ears ringing with the roar of the deafening crowd. Fingers still tangled together, Kagami's voice boomed throughout the arena as he shouted, "ALL RIGHT!!! LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!" as he hopped off the platform, Kuroko following along as he smiled and simply waved.

Kuroko loved everything—the cheering of their fans as they waved red and blue penlights, creating a constellation of colourful stars in a sea of dark heads. The deep thump of the bass as the vibrations seemed to shake the entire stage. The way both of their faces were blown up on a huge screen behind them, even though normally Kuroko hated seeing himself on television. But most of all he loved how Kagami looked on stage—the bright lights highlighting his dark red hair, the light makeup accentuating his already perfect features, and his long fingers rocking his guitar, the chords spilling out of the instrument in passionate waves as the sound filled the arena.

They sang all of their most popular songs—"SHOUT!!!", of course, along with "In the Same Vanilla Breeze" and "Make Us Dream". Finally, as the crowd started to calm down since they thought they had finished their last song, Kuroko piped up.

"Please wait a moment, everyone. We are not quite finished with our programme."

There a beat of complete silence. Thousands of eyes stared up at the pair in confusion. All of the colourful lights clicked off and left only a single spotlight shining down on the stage. Kagami glanced towards Kuroko with a warm smile.

Suddenly, the crowd went wild, screaming for joy, as Kagami cheered with them. "That's right, we have a surprise BRAND-NEW SINGLE here for you guys today!!! But it's a bit different from our usual songs, so you have to quiet down a bit."

The crowd immediately seemed to shush at Kagami's words. Giving each other a quick nod, Kagami and Kuroko slipped out of their punk-style leather jackets, revealing simple, white t-shirts underneath. Kagami gently set his guitar down as Kuroko stood up from his seat at the drums. They each picked up a handheld mic as they walked towards each other. The opening chords slowly filtered throughout the arena, slow and serene.

And they sang.

And when they finished, the final note slowly fading away and their eyes locked, a hush went over the audience once more. Kuroko could faintly make out the sounds of multiple people sniffling; he felt like crying, too. It was all so beautiful, especially Kagami's smooth, lulling voice, that Kuroko never wanted it to end. He wanted to keep on singing for the rest of his life with his amazing, sweet, gentle light by his side.

Just as Kuroko was about to turn back to the audience to bid them a goodnight, Kagami stepped closer, staring hard into clear blue eyes. Kuroko, confused, could do nothing but stand there dumbly as Kagami slowly put his free hand on his shoulder.

"I never did give you an answer yesterday," Kagami said in a low voice, which was amplified by the mic he held against his lips. Kuroko's eyes grew wide. What was his light planning? Thousands of people were watching them, just as confused.

Kagami stepped even closer, Kuroko's heart beating out of control as he gazed up at his light, tears already filling his eyes as the words he had been waiting for finally, finally, reached his ears.

"I like you, too."

And before he knew it the crowd had gone wild with screams and hoots, and Kagami was hugging him tighter than last night, and Kuroko was sobbing once again into Kagami's shoulder, probably ruining his clothes, but he didn't care. He didn't care about the director's inevitable wrath when they returned. He didn't care about how they would certainly get some hate and might even lose fans. He didn't care about what all of his friends or associates would think.

All he cared about was the boy embracing him, his heat and love surrounding him, as he burrowed into the well-sculpted chest he knew so well, at last feeling that everything was right. And he had never been more thankful for his partner, his light, and his one real love.

❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

"That was a pretty wild performance today, huh?"

"It was," Kuroko murmured in agreement, almost falling asleep on Kagami's lap as long fingers stroked his pale blue hair. They were sitting contentedly on the sofa, Kagami letting his hair air-dry after his shower while Kuroko had his head on sturdy knees, staring blankly at the television screen.

Kagami laughed softly when Kuroko let a yawn escape. "Let's sleep," he said, easily picking Kuroko up, bridal style, as he headed to their bedroom. Kuroko nestled into the familiar warm chest and listened to a steady heartbeat as he let himself be gently laid down on the bed. Kagami climbed in soon after, pulling the covers over both of them and creating a cocoon of warmth.

"'Night, Kuroko," Kagami whispered in the dim light, caressing his love's cheek.

"Good night, Kagami-kun," Kuroko answered, relishing the feel of warm fingertips on his face.

Although he was tired, and wanted nothing more than to sink into sleep, Kuroko stayed awake for a while longer, gazing into the darkness. They had been through so much more ever since that performance with the surprise new song. Just as suspected, there had been disapproving glares and hurtful words, but they pulled through, and were still supported by thousands of fans and co-workers. They had finally started living together a few months ago; Kuroko moved into Kagami's apartment since he had leftover space anyways. They didn't have fancy decorations or countless photos on the walls, but their little home still had a cozy atmosphere, and Kuroko thought it was his only true home. He especially loved what was hanging on the wall over their bed—a single sheet of heavyweight paper in a golden frame. Written on it, in alternating lines of his own neat print and Kagami's more cursive-like scrawl, were simple words, yes, but they were also the lyrics to the song that changed their lives.

And From Now On, Again and Again

Amidst the cheering, in our shout of victory

The memories of our journey until now gently flows into me

I'm glad that I met you, I'm glad that I didn't quit

We are simply full of the same honest feelings

The overflowing tears with our teammates

Are shared together in our promised place

The burning light that I gazed up to at the time

Has brought us this far, all the way here

The first victory that we chased after intently

It must have been the entrance to a new future

Because we became serious about something we love

And were able to respect the heart we put into it

We vowed that we would play again next time

We head towards tomorrow together with the same fighting spirit

A free shadow, for its light

A free light, from its shadow

Will accept the meaning of being your true self

Clashing with each other, understanding each other, we know that this is not the end

If we wish for it, our path will continue on to wherever we want

Feeling the beginning of this dream that we've grasped onto

From now on, again and again, we can meet on the court

The burning light that I gazed up to at the time

Has brought us this far, all the way here

The first victory that we chased after intently

It must have been the entrance to a new future

Our path will continue on

**Author's Note:**

> Yaaaaay I LOVE these two as a musical pair!!!! This turned out longer than I planned (again), but I'm pretty happy with it, so no problem, right? *worried smile* As long as it doesn't seem too rushed!! And I absolutely LOVE Kurokocchi and Kagami-kun's new duet <3 <3 "Soshite Korekara, Nandodemo" literally had me in tears because of how beautiful the lyrics and their voices were *sniff* So when I got the "ballad" prompt, I knew this song would be the perfect choice! xD The last part of the story is the lyrics, which I translated myself, so I apologise for any mistakes in the translation. Let me know if there's a place I should fix in the comments!!


End file.
